Cologne's museum of medieval art in the Romanesque church of St. Cäcilien: sculpture, goldsmiths' work, stained glass, and ivory.
April 3, 2025 – October 11, 2026
Around 30 stained-glass panels, including the entire holdings of the Khanenko Museum in Kyiv, in dialogue with panels from the museum's own collection; extended until October 2026.
March 4, 2027 – June 6, 2027
A collaboration with the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst and the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt: images of dragons from Europe and East Asia, complemented by fossils and natural history specimens.
The museum's foundation is the private collection of Cologne cathedral canon Alexander Schnütgen, who assembled medieval ecclesiastical art in the late 19th century. In 1906 he donated it to the city of Cologne, which undertook to build a dedicated museum. In October 1910 the collection opened in a Neo-Romanesque/Gothic annex to the Kunstgewerbemuseum on the Hansaring; in 1918 it was named the Schnütgen-Museum.
When Cologne's museums were reorganized in 1931, the museum transferred its paintings to the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum and in return received the Parler bust, the Heribert comb, and stained glass, among other items. In 1932 it moved into the former abbey of St. Heribert in Deutz. That building was destroyed in World War II, but the evacuated holdings survived the war almost undamaged.
At the suggestion of the architect Karl Band, the war-damaged Romanesque church of St. Cäcilien was rebuilt and supplemented with an administration and library building; in 1956 the museum opened there as the first Cologne museum after the war. In 2010 a glass extension was added, creating a shared foyer with the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum. Since 2024 the collection has been presented anew in 15 thematic chapters, from wood and stone sculpture and goldsmiths' work to textiles and stained glass.
| Adults | €6 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €3.50Students, people doing military or voluntary service, and people with a severe disability (degree of disability 50 or higher) |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 5 · Children under 6 accompanied by adults free; also free: all school students, trainees, and Cologne residents under 18. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €3.50companion free · Reduced admission from degree of disability 50; one companion is free with the "B" marker. |
| Students & apprentices | €3.50 |
| Groups (10+ people) | €3.50 per personGroup ticket for 10 or more people. Self-organized groups with their own guide, please register in advance. |
| Families | –No dedicated family ticket; the MuseumsCard Family (€30, two adults and two children under 18) is valid at all municipal museums. |
| Combination ticket Museum Schnütgen and Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum | €10reduced €7 |
| Special exhibition including collection | €6reduced €3.50; prices for "Drachen" (2027) not yet set |
| MuseumsCard Single | €18two consecutive opening days at all municipal museums, including public transport in Cologne on the first day |
| Annual pass for the Cologne museums, including special exhibitions | €90reduced €45; without special exhibitions €68 / reduced €34 |
Free admission: KölnTag on the first Thursday of the month (except on public holidays): free admission for Cologne residents
Free admission also for KölnPass and ICOM card holders and members of the Freundeskreis Museum Schnütgen. Unless otherwise stated, guided tours are included in admission.
Foyer with ticket desk, shop, and café step-free via the main entrance on Cäcilienstraße; reachable by elevator from the parking garage, which has designated spaces. Coat check and accessible restroom in the basement (elevator). New building and Bandbau accessible (except for a small gallery in the stained-glass section); the Cäcilienkirche is accessible to wheelchair users only via a side entrance from outside, accompanied by staff; the crypt and sacristy are not accessible. Loaner wheelchairs and folding stools at the information desk. Texts in Easy German (Leichte Sprache) via the audio guide application.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 5 |
|---|
Doodle booklet for children, audio dramas and videos in the series "Erzähl mir Kunst"; children's tours (e.g., from age 5), children's workshops, school-holiday courses, and children's birthday parties (about 2.5 hours) through the Museumsdienst Köln.
Neumarkt · 5-min walk
U-Bahn/tram Neumarkt (lines 1, 3, 4, 9, 16, 18) and buses 136 and 146, about a 5-minute walk.
Paid parking
Public underground parking Q-Park Stadtmitte directly beneath the museum (Cäcilienstraße 29) with accessible parking spaces; €3 per hour, daily maximum €15. Tour buses can stop briefly in the lay-by on Cäcilienstraße directly in front of the museum; bus parking on the Rhine riverbank.
From October 16, 2026 (21:00) to October 19, 2026 (5:00), Cäcilienstraße is closed; the museum remains accessible on foot.
Get directionsMuseum café with light meals, a daily special, and cake, in good weather in the courtyard with a view of St. Cäcilien (Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00, Thu until 18:00). Museum shop (Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00). Free "Museums-WLAN" (museum Wi-Fi).
No information on venue rental found; the Gartenzimmer (garden room) in the Bandbau is used for the museum's own events.
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes (DE, EN) |
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Allowed in the permanent collection for private purposes, without flash or tripod |
| Good to know | Free audio guide to around 100 objects via QR code on your own smartphone (German and English, plus texts in Ukrainian, Turkish, and Easy German). Public guided tours and bookable programs through the Museumsdienst Köln; outside groups, please register. Entrance via the foyer shared with the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum on Cäcilienstraße. |
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